Our Board of Directors

Since moving to Bainbridge Island six years ago, Kate and her husband have transformed their home (called “Camp 4”) into a “sustainable living lab” where they experiment with different solutions to live more sustainably.  She shares their learnings with larger audiences via social media/websites and also writes for Family Circle magazine as their Sustainable Living Expert.  You may also see Kate delivering her duck and chicken eggs to Bainbridge Island retail stores and restaurants by bike.

When Kate is not working at Camp 4, she is managing her independent consulting firm, Flashpoint Strategy.  As owner and Chief Innovation Officer at Flashpoint Strategy, she assists food and beverage companies in bringing their innovative new ideas to market. Now a 15-year veteran of the Food and Beverage Industry, she understands what it takes to bring products from “farm to fork.”  Kate holds a B.S. degree in Agriculture and Life Sciences from University of Wisconsin – Madison and an M.B.A. from University of Chicago – Booth School of Business.  She serves on the Bainbridge Arts & Humanities Board, the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art Board and chairs the Public Art Committee.

Leslie moved to Seattle in 1990 to start a marketing-communications consulting business, and soon thereafter discovered the concept of “sustainability.” The catalyst was an issue of a magazine published on Bainbridge Island called In Context (the predecessor to YES! Magazine). The theme was sustainability practices in Europe, such as car sharing and vertical gardens, which were mostly unknown in the US at the time. She read it cover to cover, had that ‘waking up’ moment, and found a class on sustainability at UW Extension. She went on to volunteer with Sustainable Seattle and the newly formed Northwest branch of BALLE (the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies). She was also a founding member of Jackson Place Cohousing near downtown Seattle where she lived for eight years until moving to Bainbridge Island to join her partner, Jason. Together, Leslie and Jason have started the first Kitsap ‘coworking’ business, OfficeXpats, in the Bainbridge Pavilion. They are now building and supporting a community of remote workers and independent professionals on the belief that people work better together than they do alone. She also continues as a marketing-communications consultant at Microsoft.

Maradel has had extensive experience with non-profit organizations. A retired University of Oregon professor, Maradel brings to her work 27 years of teaching and mentoring students in fields ranging from community and regional planning to law to cross-cultural communication. Maradel was a founder and the first President of the Oregon Environmental Council, and formed and directed the UO Micronesia and South Pacific Program, which placed graduate students in island communities to engage in skills transfer in conjunction with a project important to the requesting agency or organization. Upon retirement, Maradel moved to Bainbridge Island, where she has been active in a wide range of community projects. She is a member of the City of Bainbridge Island Planning Commission. She is also active with the Bainbridge Beach Naturalists.

Els moved to Bainbridge in 1984 from the Netherlands. She is an entrepreneur and wears many other hats. She is one of the founders of the bicycle shop "Classic Cycle" on Bainbridge Island which just celebrated its 25^th year. She and her husband Jeff sold the bikeshop in 2010. She graduated with a MBA in sustainability from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute in 2006. She served in 2007 on the board of the Community Housing Coalition, which developed recommendations for solutions to the local affordable housing crisis. She currently serves on the board of the Chamber of Commerce and is involved with Zero Waste, the Sustainable Business Network, WOW Bainbridge and Go Bainbridge. She currently works as the Marketing and Sustainability director at Bay Hay and Feed and she serves as staff for the non-profit One Call for All, which last year raised more than $850,000 for nonprofits in the Bainbridge and Kitsap communities.  

Abra Bennett and her husband moved to Bainbridge Island in 2001, when she opened Rolling Bay Gourmet Personal Chef Service.  She is a regular writer for Edible Seattle and is interested in all things food, wine, and farming-related. She served for a year on the Bainbridge Island Planning Commission, and is a longtime member of the Bainbridge Chorale.

She holds two Master's degrees, one in Environmental Management, and another in International Environmental Policy. She has worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Seattle; as Regulatory Compliance Manager for the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District; and as Executive Director of the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District. She has also worked as a consultant for the UN Secretariat on Climate Change, and for the Battelle Memorial Institute on air and water pollution-related issues.

Cathie has more than 25 years of experience in government, non-profit and for-profit leadership and community engagement.  She currently works for Puget Sound Energy as an Efficient Communities Coordinator.  In this role, she collaborates with local government entities, businesses and grassroots organizations, educating commercial and residential customers about PSE’s energy efficiency incentives and creating solutions to customer challenges.  She is also a student at Bainbridge Graduate Institute, where she is completing a Certificate in Sustainable Energy Solutions.  Previous jobs include: Communications Coordinator for the City of Bainbridge Island, Director of Development and External Relations for Pilchuck Glass School, and Executive Director of the Washington Wilderness Coalition. 

Cathie is passionate about building connections that create new possibilities and accomplish positive change.  She is a co-founder and ongoing participant in the development of Prepared Neighborhoods, a Sustainable Bainbridge project.  She holds degrees in English and History from Boston University, and studied art and design at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Pratt Fine Art Center and Pilchuck Glass School. 

Born in England, architect Jonathan Davis brings more than 27 years of sustainable building experience to his projects.  Davis designed and built his first sustainable home, incorporating geo-thermal heat pumps, solar hot water, fireplace heat reclamation and recycled bricks in 1985, and continues to incorporate cutting edge sustainability features into all of his work cumulating in his latest project, Grow Community.

Jonathan attributes his passion for sustainability to his love of and connection to the outdoors.  Over the years Jonathan has immersed himself into sailing, skiing, backcountry backpacking and skiing, rock climbing, biking, kayaking, camping and gardening.

Jonathan founded Davis Studio Architecture + Design, with his wife Mary Jo in 2002.  DSAD is driven by modern principles and infuses a human and personal approach to modern architecture, balanced with a concern for the environment and sustainability. Davis Studio A+D projects have been built to One Planet, Built Green 5 Star and LEED Platinum certification. Working closely with their clients, DSAD creates homes and buildings that elevate the spirit, provide efficient, functional spaces and reduce their footprint on the planet.

Kat has lived on Bainbridge Island for 27 years.   After more than 25 years in the business world, working in multiple disciplines, Kat transitioned to the study and practice of whole systems design, organizational development and community building.  For the past 10 years, she has focused her energies on community organizing and political activism.  Kat worked at the 23rd District Democratic Bainbridge Headquarters for the 2004 election, and worked collaboratively on the Bainbridge Island Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the City’s Adopt-A-Road Program, multiple events for peace, regional Earth Charter Community Summits, and Bainbridge Island Earth Day events.  She hosts the regular Bainbridge Island Conversation Café, and recently, served as staff for the Community Housing Coalition, which developed recommendations for solutions to the local affordable housing crisis.  She currently works with David Korten, author of theGreat Turning:  From Empire to Earth Community, on outreach and communication for the national Great Turning Initiative.  Her passions include collaborative grassroots organizing for action, designing group experiences and bringing people together in meaningful conversation.

After working as a magazine editor, commercial photographer and graphic designer, Jane finally settled on web design and development 15 years ago and never looked back. The culmination of her career (so far) has been working remotely as the Director of Development and Operations for a software company on the East Coast.

Prior to that Jane ran her own web development company, Super WebGroup, for 10 years and enjoyed developing database-driven websites for clients such as The City of Bainbridge Island, The City of Gig Harbor, Pope Resources, Port of Bremerton, Kitsap Peninsula Visitor & Convention Bureau, Beldon Fund, The Russell Family Foundation, YES! Magazine, Conservation Magazine, and The Brainerd Foundation.

Jane grew up in Bucks County, PA, graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA with a concentration in botany. Then, after working in Boston for eight years, she moved to Bainbridge Island, WA, in 1992, with her hunting, fishing and chanterelle mushroom picking husband, Pete Pinardi.

Sallie moved to Bainbridge in 1978. Since then, she has worked with a number of community non-profits though she has a special interest in land conservation and environmental issues. A former small business owner, she enjoys finding opportunities for collaboration and community-building. Whether walking Island trails or holding meetings in local bakeries, she is grateful for all the people who make Bainbridge a caring and lively community. Sallie served as President of Sustainable Bainbridge for three years.

Jon grew up on Bainbridge; his father, born in Port Madison (the son of early settlers from Sweden) brought his family home to the Island in 1945. Graduating from Bainbridge High in 1957, Jon went off to college in Portland and then to graduate school on the East Coast.  He taught English literature and other subjects in the Humanities at the university level (Freshman writing to Ph. D.-level seminars) for a full career, 1964-2000, but he never entirely lost touch with his roots and extended family on Bainbridge.  Living in Washington, D. C. for all those years and spending many summers on the Island alerted him to the importance of a sense of place and proved that you may run, but you can’t hide from politics.  While getting settled in an active retirement here, he turned his hand to writing about community affairs, local politics, and environmental issues.  Much of his reading nowadays deals with efforts to achieve sustainable local economies, and he will be contributing information and reflections to the Sustainable Bainbridge blog.

Marit Saltrones is a life-long social activist, currently focused on the resilience and sustainability of Island households as a founder of the Prepared Neighborhoods initiative. Her deep roots on the Island are reflected in the generations of her family buried at Port Blakely Cemetery. An entrepreneur, she has pioneered video-based distance learning, built and sold two small businesses, managed Northland Cable Television (during the beta tests of cable modem technology), served the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island as President (2002 - 2003) and currently serves as PR Chair for the Rotary Auction. An award winning Executive Producer, she has managed the creation of hundreds of emergency response, emergency medicine, corporate communications and workplace safety training programs.  She holds a BA in Media Studies from The Evergreen State College.  As a VISTA volunteer she was trained as a community organizer in a direct lineage from the legendary Saul Alinsky.  She makes her home on an aging Bainbridge Island orchard, where she attempts to garden and write simple poetry. 

Rob Smallwood has been providing custom home building and remodeling services to Bainbridge Island for more than thirty years   With his degree in architecture and his contracting experience, he brings a unique mix to design and construction. He also recently became a Certified Aging in Place specialist. Rob is passionate about promoting more sustainable design and building practices within the design/build community, the City of Bainbridge Island and our community at large.   Environmentally responsible and resource efficient processes used during a building's life-cycle not only help sustain the planet but also the homes in which we live.   Smallwood Design & Construction built the Ellis home on Bainbridge, the first LEED Platinum home built west of Seattle and is on board to build the first Passive House on the island.